


Food for the Heart

by GenderQueerGremlin



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adopting a Stray Cat, Fluff, Light Angst, Like the lightest, Marichat, Marinette definitely thinks Chat Noir is homeless, cw: underfed Adrien, except the cat is a superhero
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:01:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24121771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GenderQueerGremlin/pseuds/GenderQueerGremlin
Summary: During the events of Weredad, Marinette notices how Chat Noir eats everything Tom and Sabine give him, and for the first time realizes how thin he actually is.Sometime after that day, she finds Chat passed out on her balcony, but without any wounds or akumatized villains in sight, and makes a guess.Cue Chat Noir showing up on Marinette's balcony every night like a stray cat who knows exactly which house will feed them.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 2
Kudos: 79





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Listen. I have this drabble saved as homeless starved cat boy. I dunno which title is worse. 
> 
> Wrote this for a friend who suggested I post it, so here it is. 
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy :) 
> 
> Oh p.s. Adrien's dad doesn't feed him properly. This isn't a specific condemnation of the fashion industry in France, just of Gabriel horrible father of the year Agreste. It isn't featured heavily, but if this is a difficult topic for you, please take care if you choose to proceed.

The first time Chat Noir is in her home, eating her food, all she wants is for him to leave. 

At first, anyway. Then she notices how rapidly he scarfs down her dad's pastries, cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk's, and it gives her pause. 

... Has Chat always been this thin? 

She doesn't have long to think about it before her dad gets Akumatized and it's timed to save Paris. Again.

\--

It's a random night in late fall, when the days are cool and night is decidedly chilly, when she hears a thump above her while she sleeps that startles her awake. She stares at the door to her balcony with wide, scared eyes before Tikki pops through the wood and returns, possibly more shocked than she. 

"It's Chat Noir!" her kwami half-whispers in alarm. 

In a flash, Marinette is opening her balcony door, and Tikki's right: Chat Noir is collapsed on her lounge chair, seemingly fast asleep. Or maybe unconscious is a better word; he looks... ragged, run down, not quite as if he'd been in a fight but definitely worse for wear. Sick almost. Fatigued, or... 

"Tikki, stay with him," Marinette instructs as she ducks back down into her room and steathily - okay, well, she tries to be - sneaks into the kitchen to grab the leftovers from dinner. 

She leaves them by her lounge chair where Chat is sure to see them when he wakes, and disappears back into her room.

... 

The leftovers are gone in the morning, plate absolutely spotless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! 
> 
> Edit: This is the first fanfic I've posted on this site, and the first I've posted period for over, oof, 11 years. To see some of y'all have enjoyed it so far is an amazing feeling! Thanks so much <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friends and I were talking and decided it'd be cooler if the kwamis could communicate with their miraculous holders when the latter are transformed. 
> 
> Hence, Plagg bugging Adrien (let's be honest probably constantly) while they're transformed.

He doesn't know why he keeps going back to Marinette's place. He's caused her and her family enough trouble, especially after the first time he was invited over, when Marinette's father was Akumatized because of him. Because he hurt her, even if he hadn't meant to. He should've known better, handled it better. He was supposed to be a hero. 

But here he was again, standing on her balcony, and there it was again, the cooler with his name scribbled on the lid. 

He gently opened the container to find the snacks left for him inside: leftover spaghetti and a half dozen macarons. Interesting combination, he thought as the corners of his mouth twitched upward. 

_'Ask her for cheese!'_

Chat rolled his eyes light heartedly at his Kwami's intrusive thoughts. _'Maybe next time, Plagg, it's late,'_ he replied. 

He knew full well he wouldn't. 

Just accepting this offering felt like too much. 

\-- 

"Marinette, you've barely touched your food! Is something wrong, dear?" Sabine asks, and her daughter swiftly shakes her head. 

"No! I mean, yes. I mean, not with the food! I'm just... not that hungry! I think I will be later though. Can I take this up to my room?" Marinette asks, pointedly avoiding eye contact. 

Sabine side eyes her husband but smiles gently and nods. "Of course dear, as long as you're eating. And I can make you something else if you want." 

She supresses a laugh as her daughter flails her hands. "No, no! It's great, mom, really! I just don't have much of an apetite right now. But thanks. I'm gonna head up now, if that's okay."

"Alright, sweatheart. You're still on dish duty tonight, though. Don't forget." 

"Right! Yes, I will definitely do that. Later," Marinette adds as she picks up her plate and dashes upstairs. 

Tom sighs dejectedly and she pats his arm. "I guess she's finally at that age where it's not cool to hang out with us anymore," he says. 

"Oh, honey, I'm sure that's not it. She wouldn't still be kicking your ass at video games if that were true," Sabine says comfortingly as she begins to pile dishes in their sink.

"You're right. ...HEY!"

\--

She's a horrible liar. Truly, honestly wretched, and if her parents were nosier, they'd catch on immediately. 

But she really isn't skipping meals. Just... saving some of hers for someone else. And unlike her partner, she has access to a pantry and two bakers as parents. If she's hungry, she can and does go downstairs for a late night snack, something she feels as though she's taken for granted before the last few weeks.

But Chat Noir comes to her balcony for his. 

She diligently adds what's left of her dinner to the nightly picnic she packs for Chat Noir. In it already are two tangerines and a blueberry muffin her dad baked that morning, not quite up to shop standards but delicious nonetheless. 

Recently, she's been adamant about ensuring a balanced basket, hitting as many food groups as possible, not knowing what her partner has access to during the daytime, in the moments when they're not both suited up and fighting Hawk Moth's villains. 

Part of her wants to wait beside the cooler on the lounge chair for his arrival. Part of her feels as if that's a betrayal of trust, somehow. 

So, baby steps. 

Tonight she leaves a note with the cooler before retreating into her room and snuggling under her covers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! Will post next chapter in 2ish days.
> 
> Oh! Btw this is edited only by yours truly. So if you see any blatant errors, feel free to let me know so I can correct them!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bone apple teeth

_'What's your favorite food? P.S. Allergies?'_

Chat Noir's stomach does a funny flip when he reads the note. He's pretty sure it's unrelated to the rumbling his stomach's been making all day as he worked through what felt like the hundredth photoshoot that week, but he doesn't dive too deep into it. 

Okay but maybe he should. 

Because before this note, there had been zero acknowledgement that this was a Thing. He came to the roof on nights he could sneak away - it's gotten easier, and he's not sure why he feels almost disappointed that his father has been less diligent about restricting his freedom as of late, but he _is_ \- and there was always food there waiting for him, miraculously. He'd eat and be on his way, more often than not meeting up with Ladybug for a late night fight with yet another akumatized Parisian. 

But now, with the note, their unspoken arrangement was, undoubtedly and unignorably a Thing. 

He knows immediately part of the funny feeling is guilt, that's familiar. He doesn't want to think about how much of an inconvenience this has been for her, for Marinette, who always seemed to be busy with a dozen different things - school, work, passion projects for her future as a designer. And Chat knows first hand how difficult and time consuming that career can be, even if he worked a different part of the industry. 

The other part is harder to name. A warm, soft glow in his chest, knowing it's Marinette, busy with a dozen different things but always going out of her way to add a 13th to help a friend, putting out food for him, Chat Noir, a perfect stranger. Mostly. 

It reminds him of late night movie marathons with his mom or listening to new music Nino's discovered, showed to him excitedly between classes. 

It... might not be the end of the world if this is a Thing. His favorite food couldn't possibly lead to Marinette discovering who he really is, and the allergy question is just practical. (He thinks it's also very fitting of Marinette to only ask now, weeks after she began feeding him what he's assumed are whatever leftovers her family had from that night's dinner. Not in a mean way, of course.) 

He picks up the pen left by the note and makes a few additions of his own. 

\---

Marinette rolls her eyes so hard she thinks the blanket she has wrapped around her shoulders to stave off the cool morning air might just blow off from the force. Of course Chat Noir would reply "Anything sweet, just like you ;)" in a messy sprawl across her note. Ridiculous flirt. As cheesy as the request added at the bottom. 

But she supposes this works out fine. Macarons were on the agenda today anyway, one of the few things she thinks she bakes quite well. It's Alya's birthday on Monday, so their friends are celebrating tomorrow, and Marinette has given herself the entire day to get the sweet passion fruit treats ready for the party. 

If passion fruit happens to be Adrien's favorite flavor, well. That's just a bonus. 

Hopefully Chat Noir enjoys them as well. 

She sets aside all of her rejects from her day of baking, of which there are, expectedly, many. Misshapen or crumbly mostly, but taste fine nonetheless. 

Still, it feels a little underhanded to provide her partner only the macarons that weren't good enough for Alya's party.

She picks out the nicest of the bunch meant for her friend's celebration and arranges it nicely on top of the pile of extras. And, of course, she adds a few other foods from her pantry, some spare fruits and a fresh croissant baked by her dad that morning. 

Last of all, she adds a sizable hunk of whatever cheese she finds the most of in her fridge, as requested, and places the bundle beside her chair on her balcony. 

For a brief moment, she considers staying. Then the cool night air starts her shivering, and she ducks back into the warmth of her bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm feeling two, maybe three more chapters. Stay tuned :)


End file.
